Monday, February 23, 2009

I might have gained a tiny bit of weight in the offseason. A number of things contributed to this: tons of job stress, bagels, cold part 1, discovery of Birthday Cake Remix at Coldstone, cold part deux, lime taco chips, Angelico’s, Angelico’s, Angelico’s …

Luckily, I’m not alone. My tri team has started a challenge to lose the off-season weight. Starting March 15, running through June. Using a truly awesome website. http://fatbet.net

User agreement: Fatbet.net won’t sell your personal information or invade your privacy. We just want you to lose some weight and have fun in the process. Honest. In exchange, we ask you to agree to the following:I understand that I should seek advice from a medical professional before embarking on a weight loss and/or fitness program. I understand that the creators of Fatbet.net are not medical or weight-loss professionals. I’m not sure they’re even professionals.I am responsible for what I write to other members of my Fatbet group(s) in the message board area. If someone gets upset because something I wrote was mean-spirited, I will apologize and try to make it up to them.

The Fatbet wager or penaltyFatbets are about losing weight and competition. All who hit their goals get bragging rights, and those who don't nurse bruised egos until the next round. A Fatbet wager is an additional motivator. Fatbet.net is not a gambling site, so if money changes hands in a Fatbet, we don’t really want to know. Here are some Fatbets that do not involve cash:Losers sing in a Karaoke bar; winners pick the songsLosers let facial or leg hair grow unchecked for 30 daysLosers run naked through Seattle CenterUse your imagination. We admit that embarrassing Fatbet losers doesn't exactly follow a supportive weight-loss group model, but it can work for the hard core among us who grew up when gym teachers were still mean.

Unless otherwise stipulated in the Fatbet, losers pay the stated wager or penalty only once. For example, if the wager states that Fatbet losers must pay 10 goats, the losers do not have to give each winner 10 goats. The 10 goats would go into a kitty (or in this case, pen) to be split among the winners. If the goats cannot be evenly divided among the winners, the remaining goats shall be slaughtered immediately and the meat divided by weight (use your digital scale).Goooooooooooooooooooooat!

How can I change my start weight?If you guessed at your beginning weight or for some other reason (like you're a Big Fat Cheater) you need to adjust it later:How can I change my goal weight?If you have a legitimate reason to adjust your personal goal weight up or down (usually before the bet is underway):Your new goal will now be reflected in the Leader Board table and in your progress chart. If you have cheated, you may burn for eternity in Hell.

It’s like the Psych writers created a weight loss site. They need more 80’s references though. Anyways, we all know I love an online challenge. It’s an addiction, with doctors and everything. And I definitely grew up when gym teachers were mean. HATED gym.

So I’ll endeavor to post results (assuming I have any), feel free to play along. Rainmaker you’re not allowed to play since you have 5% body fat. Unless you want to lose and run naked through Seattle center.

I might have slightly overtrained last week. I worked out 6 consecutive days, ending with a 7 mile run at the GW marathon relay (ask me about that race I dare you). So all last week I felt like death. Just tired and worn out and like I was getting sick. I backed way off and ate a bunch of Cold Eeze but didn’t sleep much. I attempted to hit the gym Saturday and trying to run resulted in dead legs and wheezing. I traded in for the elliptical and ab work, and chased with Chinese food and Coldstone. Sunday morning I had the 3 hour spin class. Can I say how bad I DID NOT WANT TO GO. But I had bailed on the last two classes and I didn’t think I could in good faith bail again. I ate my French toast and dragged my ass to class. On the beltway. It’s snowing. Kind of a lot. Call R, no snow day. Class is still on. Sigh.

Get to class. The theme is Night and Day, so we heard songs like:Midnight Train to Georgia(BYO Pips)Every Day is a Winding RoadThis is the Night

It was kind of a sparse class Sunday, apparently quite a few people were sick, yet another cold going around. But the quieter group actually let me zone out more and just spin. It’s the best I’ve felt spinning in a while. And definitely better than I felt at the body parts class. When I got home, I was tired but definitely felt a lot better than I did Saturday, you could say a night and day difference.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Even though this is a remarkably ambitious goal, I signed up for Inside Out Sports’ Cast Iron Club. What can I say, I love online challenges. Mmmmm, metrics. Plus- free t-shirt!

Here’s the straight dope:

Cast Iron ClubInside-Out Sports is proud to offer our “Cast Iron Club” for the second year. This club is for those of you who are hard headed and committed enough to swim, bike and run through the equivalent of 30 Ironmans in one year. Whether you are an experienced Ironman or a novice triathlete training for your first race, don’t stop now….if you keep reading and you will see how easy and rewarding this program can be.The program is simple:Register for the program at www.insideoutsports.com. Cost is only $7 and the deadline is April 31st. When you sign up, you will receive an Inside-Out Sports 28 oz water bottle.Record your swim, bike, and run mileage and report it monthly using this form. We use the honor system so if you cheat, we leave your fate up to karma. For convenience, we offer a yard to miles calculator for swimming mileage.At the end of the year (Dec. 31st 2008), if you reach the goal of:72 miles of swimming3360 miles of biking786 miles of running

You will receive:A Certificate of AchievementA Tech Running Shirt commemorating your incredible achievementRights to brag to all your friends

If you think the goal mileage is out of reach, think again. If you swim 0.75 mile (or 1320 yards) two times per week, if you ride 35 miles two times per week, and run 5.5 miles 3 times per week, you will reach your 30 Ironman goal in 48 weeks, or 11 months.We hope that you will see The Cast Iron Club as a fun way to keep you motivated and consistent throughout the year.

So based on my laziness in January, I have to accomplish the following per month to stay on plan: 7.2 miles of swimming. 289 miles of biking. And 70.8 miles of running.

USAT rankings came out. In order to be ranked, you have to participate in at least three triathlons in the year. Last year, I did exactly 3. One of which I won my age group by default. Somehow, I still managed to get ranked, woot!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

This week is the Valentine’s Day rowing challenge. Since I tanked on the Winter Holiday challenge thanks to being sick twice, I’m starting again with this one.

The rules: The goal is to row a total of 14,000 meters between 12:00 a.m. Monday, February 9th and midnight on Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 14, 2009.This is an individual challenge. (You do not need to belong to a team to participate.)Meters must be entered online.Only indoor rower meters count (no water meters please).

This past weekend I ventured down to the USAT Mid Atlantic meeting in Richmond. Mainly to help the club out by providing an extra body for the club challenge, the club with the most people there wins cash. We won for the second most people there, and apparently donated the money to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. It’s a great cause, but if I had known we were going to do that I probably wouldn’t have gone.

There was supposed to be a silent auction for various race entries. However, in true USAT fashion, they waited until the last minute. I didn’t even know about it until I walked past the table and asked about it. And the opening bids were all set for the price of the entry. FAIL again. When you set up a silent auction, you set the opening bid for about half of what the item is worth. If you’ve done your homework, you’ve advertised what is being auctioned off so people are excited about the items and you start the auctions with competition for the items. Most people already have planned their race schedules by now, and their budgets are set. This would have been a good idea to have online probably a month ago. Anyway, the auction was supposed to support the CAF, so it’s doubly sad that it was handled so poorly, and I didn’t like feeling like the club donated our winnings to cover for the USAT’s F up.

Bob Babbitt, one of the original Ironmen gave a fantastic talk. It was all about the early days of Ironman where you had two days to complete the course, and he did it on a beater bike in a long sleeve cotton t-shirt. It was fascinating. Apparently, his support crew, which was legal in those days, brought him a Big Mac, fries, and coke to eat on the bike course. And he took a 45 minute nap during a massage in transition. He actually gained weight during the event from eating so much sweet bread. I love him. He was a great speaker, just told stories without pushing anything on us, if you get a chance to meet him or hear him speak, GO! http://ironman.com/holdingcell/2003/july-2003/bob-babbitttriathlons-greatest-ambassadorironmans-spirited-soothsaye

Unfortunately, they ended his talk to let a guy try to pitch his mental coaching services to us. Mental coaching is the new Fauxhawk. Everyone is talking about it or trying to sell it to you, but there is very little accreditation or education supporting their advice. I cannot stand when people try to sell pop psychology bullshit. I tuned out and read my Self magazine in an effort to keep my mouth shut and not out this idiot. Just a piece of advice: you probably wouldn’t hire a coach who hadn’t ever completed a triathlon himself, would you? Same goes for mental coaching. And this should be their primary business, not some side effort to soak money from patsies who don’t check credentials.

Later, we heard from the Duathlon Nationals guy. There will be a keg, and a club challenge, and amazing swag. The race is cheap too, only $35 so it’s looking pretty tempting. Did I mention no swimming?

In other news, don't stay at the Omni. The staff is impeccable. Amazing customer service. But they can't make up for the fact that the walls are paper thin, and the facilities have not been kept up. Bed was soft, noise incessant, toilet ran ... it made for a very cranky ride home the next day when neither one of us had slept more than a few hours. And we were both too tired to run the du course like we would have liked.

If you get a chance, eat at the Tobacco Company. Mashed potatoes where you could taste the heavy cream. Great martinis. Yummy tiramisu. And there's an atrium that runs up the center of all three floors. Awesome. http://www.thetobaccocompany.com/

Guess who ate a Kashi chewy peanut butter granola bar a week before they showed up on the list. And spent the next week being violently ill on and off. It was the same time frame the Norovirus was going around so they’re not 100% I had salmonella, but my symptoms lasted a long time and seemed more consistent with salmonella.

I am finally back to eating mass quantities of pizza, so everything is okay.

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About Me

I like to run, but I'm slow. I love the water even if it doesn't always love me back. And I'm still tweaking the bike.
I hate jellyfish even if they do eat mosquito larva.
James Bond movies, ice cream, and finisher's medals make life worth living.